Pinnacle/zeniths ?

[island lady]

20 hours ago, little britain said:

 

I get the distinct feeling we red headed adopted stepchildren really are not going to be made to feel welcome by some people… 🤷‍♀️ 

 

I got that feeling right from the start as well.  We never use lanyards, and will hide my "red headed Zenith (love that term 😉 ) card as much as possible...keeping a low profile.  😄 

 

For me, the biggest thing is the savings for not having to book the All inclusive to get our WIFI, drinks, etc....not the specialty lounges...etc.  

[island lady]

17 hours ago, little britain said:

I personally have no interest in going into a lounge for drinks - I have the ability to have drinks at any bar: as on RCI I have little interest in being in a lounge with the badge wearers  ( my name badge has never been taken out of the box let alone worn! ) whose sole conversation is “ how many points do you have”.  And yes, on many times the ship has had hundreds of Ps onboard so we have not made the cut to be allowed in to CK or the lounge. 

We actually had several X cruises already booked as we don’t like the direction RCI is heading in focussing on huge ships, short repetitive itineraries and families;  so when this match happened it was icing on the cake!  I am very surprised at the number of Ps who apparently have never stepped foot into an X ship though. 
I am embarrassed by some of the comments I have read about the behaviour and attitude of some of the Pinnacles onboard X ships. Perhaps it is these aforementioned first timers; I can assure you we aren’t all like that!  

Having read many comments on these boards, I do feel that some Zs resent our presence and inclusion: I am wary that on some cruises as the Z numbers are low, sitting at the table for the lunches could be somewhat frosty or awkward.  I hope I am proved wrong. 

 

Totally agree with the idea that I think RCI company had when they realized many long time cruisers (myself included) were starting to book other lines.  We also have no interest in the mega theme park ships.  They are only looking for young families now...not us old geezers.

 

Doing the match was something (IMHO) they came up with to entice the loyals over to a sister line.  I already had my first X cruise booked previously...and if it works out well...I will book more.  

 

However, I have already mostly booked with other lines (Viking) and will probably keep in that direction.  

[island lady]

17 hours ago, JDPCruisers said:

Agree, and some Pinnacles as we've cruised with them a number of times. I guess it comes down to people are people, some friendly and some not so much. 

 

As I always see it...there are nice people, and rude/ignorant pax in all levels.  It is not unique to higher tiers....just more noticed.  

 

We like to hang with the nice ones...avoid the others.  😉 

[island lady]

16 hours ago, doghog said:

Doesn't surprise me and we've never attended a Roll Call gathering. Another reason I don't post pictures of us on Cruise Critic or even mention Cruise Critic while onboard. 

 

But some know who you are...you cannot hide my friend.  😄 🤓

[island lady]

16 hours ago, Straughn said:

I would agree. Before I relate my story with a group of Pinnacles, let me say that I don’t judge them all by this experience. However, I have seen similar behavior on other RCCL ships; we just weren’t subjected to it. 
 

My partner and I were on a Royal cruise, in a suite, and made friends with another couple, also in a suite. We decided to meet in the suite lounge for a pre-dinner drink. We got there first and sat at a nice window table for four. Shortly after our friends arrived, a group of 6-8 people arrived. They looked around and then had brief “pow-wow.” A very officious woman came over and informed us that we were sitting at their table. The male half of our new friends said that he didn’t know there were assigned tables in the suite lounge. She then said. “You don’t understand. We are all Pinnacles and we have sat in this area every night this cruise. You have taken one of OUR tables.” To which our friend replied, nicely, that as far he knew, it was first come, first served for lounge seating and he saw no reason to move.”  She then replied, “I guess I will have to get the concierge to make you move.”  By now the four of us wouldn’t have left our seats for anything.

 

The woman huffed and puffed her way to the concierge desk, where she had to wait while the concierge helped another guest. When it was her turn, she loudly explained to the poor concierge that he must make us move as she and her friends were Pinnacles. The concierge, as far as we could tell told her politely to “pound sand.”

 

By now, the lounge is full and there are no seats together, let alone an area that would accommodate 6 or 8 people. The group left the lounge with the woman telling the concierge that  she would have him fired for not respecting her Pinnacle status.

 

Let me repeat, that I am sure most Pinnacles aren’t like that. But we did notice that Pinnacles seemed to announce their status to staff and other passengers a lot. I have yet to witness that behavior from a Zenith on X.

 

That woman makes Pinnacles look bad. What a nasty person indeed.   But then again...she was probably like that as a Gold, Platinum...and so forth.  😉 

[island lady]

 

A barrel full of apples...hundreds of them in it.   Three apples on the bottom are over ripe and rotten.  So do we toss the whole barrel as bad?  

 

My point, obviously....is  that I hope people don't judge a person by their tier level based on what some entitled pax act like.  The ones that are rude and inconsiderate were like that from birth...not instantly formed when they got to the upper tier level.  

 

I like to think good people keep open minds.  😇

 

 

 

Edited August 17 by island lady

[island lady]

12 hours ago, doghog said:

It's the person, not the tier level. 

 

Thank you....  🙂 

[Iamcruzin]

14 hours ago, doghog said:

You can't speak for others.  I  always provide answers on CC  based on our experiences on the Roll Calls for the cruises we are booked on.

I was referring to the roll calls that I have been in and currently engaged in. They are nothing like they were when I first joined. New social media is more active. 

[PTC DAWG]

If you have to tell someone you are special, you are not.

[doghog]

8 hours ago, island lady said:

 

As I always see it...there are nice people, and rude/ignorant pax in all levels.  It is not unique to higher tiers....just more noticed.  

 

We like to hang with the nice ones...avoid the others.  😉 

I know a couple of really nice Pinnacles that are also Zeniths. You would never know their tier levels by personally talking and hanging with them. 😉

[C-Dragons]

1 hour ago, PTC DAWG said:

If you have to tell someone you are special, you are not.

Nicely said. 👍

[phoenix_dream]

21 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 This is interesting as I cannot remember a cruise after January 1st, 2022 that we were on where the Retreat did not sail 100% booked.  There has to be some other metric they will use but I have no idea what it will be.  

 

 This is definitely going to make special events in the Retreat Lounge (e.g. Captain's Toast, Trivia, Silent Disco, etc..)  interesting.  They have been crowded / standing room only on our last four sailings. 

 

Part of the difference may be the number of passengers in the fully booked Suites. I was on several cruises earlier this year with a lot of families (kids of all ages up to college age). The ship was at 100+ capacity.  Luminae had a wait to get in. 

[phoenix_dream]

20 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 Up until 05/2022 I spent 10 years doing a lot of travel for business.  I felt it worth it to have the United Club Card to get me access to the Untied Club when I flew as it was predominately domestic travel.  

 

 This year my wife and I discussed whether or not to renew the card for just the Club Membership as the only travel we are doing is when we go on vacation, two - three times a year at the most.  I have pretty much decided to cancel my United Club membership as the Club access 2 or 3 times a year and the two free checked bags is not worth the cost of the membership. 

 

 

Understand.  It is pretty pricey. Since we retired we fly a lot on various trips including up to 9 cruises per year (granted some are b2b). So for now it's worth it to us. When the inevitable time comes when we have to cut way back I'm sure we'll reconsider 

[DaKahuna]

5 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

When the inevitable time comes when we have to cut way back I'm sure we'll reconsider 

 

 Another reason is that our next cruise is out of Miami and United does not have a club there so while we will use the United Club at Dulles, we will not have one to use on the leg back.  That's the only flight we have booked for the remainder of this year.  

 

 

[raudacruise]

On one of our early X cruises a “lady” in the buffet declared that she was Elite so she could cut in line.

[C-Dragons]

1 hour ago, raudacruise said:

On one of our early X cruises a “lady” in the buffet declared that she was Elite so she could cut in line.

SMH…

Very dear friends of ours from Wales that we met on a X cruise many years ago had a favorite saying… “There’s none so queer as Folk.”

[hcat]

5 hours ago, raudacruise said:

On one of our early X cruises a “lady” in the buffet declared that she was Elite so she could cut in line.

like the old TV show..Queen for Day! ( but self annointed)

[canderson]

2 minutes ago, hcat said:

like the old TV show..Queen for Day! ( but self annointed)

Yeah, but there you might have scored a "brand new Whirlpool washing machine!" instead of just a dried out pork cutlet. 😄 

 

[island lady]

12 hours ago, doghog said:

I know a couple of really nice Pinnacles that are also Zeniths. You would never know their tier levels by personally talking and hanging with them. 😉

 

Aww...thanks!  🥰

[hcat]

10 hours ago, canderson said:

Yeah, but there you might have scored a "brand new Whirlpool washing machine!" instead of just a dried out pork cutlet. 😄 

 

too funny!